On February 3, 2026, House representatives questioned members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) about electric affordability, grid reliability, and the agency’s reviews of natural pipelines and liquefied natural gas projects. [1] This year, FERC will begin reviewing plans explaining how transmission providers intend to comply with FERC Order 1920, which was issued in 2024. The order requires grid planners to develop transmission plans that look 20 years ahead and gives states a greater role in cost allocation. Commissioner Judy Chang stated that if the transmission system is not ready, it becomes the bottleneck; it is time for the industry to ensure that the system is ready to connect both large loads and the generators. Commissioner David Rosner highlighted the problem by citing the example of a gas-fired power project in PJM’s fast-track interconnection process for bringing power plants online to meet its resource adequacy needs that require $1 billion in grid upgrade costs. Rosner suggested that this cost was driven more by the lack of transmission, since the project requires 100 miles of 345-kV transmission lines to come online. FERC Chairman Laura Swett called for an end to the “flip-flopping of FERC’s regulatory paradigm and the uncertainty that is created by increasing regulation” that exceeds what FERC’s mission is under the law.
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